Blog Tips

Having trouble posting to the blog? Please review the tips below for guidance.

Have additional questions? You can search the WordPress codex for answers to just about any WordPress-related question.

A Guide to Blogging

 

When you first log onto the site, navigate to the top-left corner of the page, where you will see the Navigation Bar for site users. If you hover over the site name (“Ethics, Technology, and Media”), a “Dashboard” link will appear. Click the link to head to the Dashboard.

 

 

The WordPress Dashboard is the control center for managing your posts and comments. To begin posting, navigate to the “Posts” link. You can hover over the link to reveal more options, or you can click the link (hovering or clicking reveals the same options).

 

From the “Posts” page, click “Add New” to begin posting. The “Add New” link can be found in two places:

 

The text editor contains all of the functionality that you need to write, categorize, and publish your post:

Here is a brief overview for the main areas found within the text editor (more detailed explanations/instructions can be found on the WordPress Codex):

1. Make sure that you give your post a title. Not only does this help identify your post (and provide other students with an indication as to what it is about), but it also creates a unique URL for your post.
2. The WordPress editor provides several standard text modifiers (bold, italics, etc.) as well as heading options. You can also create hyperlinks within the text. Feel free to use these modifiers as much or as little as you prefer. You can also add media (images, PDFs, etc.), should you find some media that corresponds to your post. Please note that there is absolutely no requirement to add media.
3. You can type your response (or copy and paste it from a word processor) in the text editor.
4. The text editor has its own word count function so that you can monitor how long your post is.
5. Before you publish your post, please select the appropriate category that corresponds to the assignment you are submitting (i.e. for assignment 1, please select the “Assignment 1” category).
6. When you have added a title to your post, selected the appropriate category, and have finished adding text, hit “Publish” to post to the blog.

Best practice for our class: Type your assignment in Word (or whichever word processor you prefer) and save a copy there before you post the text to WordPress (you can copy and paste the text to this editor). That way, if for some reason you cannot access the site, or you are logged out before completing the post, or if any other technical issue arises, you will have a backup of your post. In such an event, you can email the assignment directly to me and/or you can try to post it again when the technical issue is resolved.

You can edit your post at anytime by returning to the “Posts” page within the Dashboard. Please note that all edits are timestamped and searchable.

Happy posting!